UHealth Cardiovascular Division Expands with New Specialists and Innovative Technologies to Deliver Academic-Level Care Throughout South Florida
Under the leadership of Dr. Yiannis Chatzizisis, the program offers the finest patient care and innovative diagnostic and therapeutic technologies.
To meet the increasing need for academic-level heart care, the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at UHealth—University of Miami Health System has expanded, with innovative therapies and new services while adding physicians and staff to its regional facilities throughout South Florida.
“We are continuously recruiting talented faculty, physician-scientists and support staff to deliver the finest patient care, offer innovative diagnostic and therapeutic technologies, conduct leading-edge research and provide top-class education” said Yiannis Chatzizisis, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and UHealth chief of cardiovascular medicine. “Along with serving South Florida, we want to be a world-class center of care for patients from the Latin America and the Caribbean.”
The division’s growing cardiovascular team will serve patients from UHealth’s satellite network from Kendall to West Palm Beach, including the new UHealth Doral and UHealth SoLé Mia facilities scheduled to open in 2025.
“We are also bringing in dedicated nurse navigators, advanced practice providers, nurses and support staff to provide our patients with personalized care, education and support,” Dr. Chatzizisis said.
The Latest Clinical Trials and Therapies
UHealth’s Division of Cardiovascular Medicine provides patients with access to the latest clinical trials and newly approved therapies, such as renal denervation for hard-to-treat hypertension, drug-coated balloons for coronary artery in-stent restenosis, pulsed field ablation for atrial fibrillation, extravascular implantable cardiac defibrillators, AI-powered software, new drugs for high cholesterol and hypertension, stem cell therapies for cardiomyopathies and coronary artery disease, and new device and software technologies for heart failure.
It is also home to nationally recognized cardiac electrophysiologists who are leading the field with technologies that are developed and offered at UHealth, such as heart mapping technology for atrial fibrillation, genetic testing for sudden cardiac death and preventive care. The Center for Atrial Fibrillation offers leading-edge personalized care for patients with dangerous, irregular heartbeats.
Earlier this year, Dr. Chatzizisis inaugurated the Center for Digital Cardiovascular Innovations, bringing together artificial intelligence, computational simulations and extended reality to improve patient outcomes, accelerate device research and regulatory approval, and foster medical education. It is the only such center in the United States.
General and Preventive Cardiology
Last October the division welcomed Beteal Ashinne, M.D., M.P.H., who focuses on coronary artery disease, lipidology, preventive cardiology, echocardiography and nuclear cardiology. Dr. Ashinne is a foundational member of the division’s comprehensive Preventive Cardiology program.
Originally from Ethiopia, Dr. Ashinne is passionate about addressing health disparities in cardiovascular disease and was a section editor for Heart British Medical Journal. Previously, Dr. Ashinne held the position of Fellows-in-Training (FIT) Chair for the Washington chapter of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Board of Directors, underscoring her dedication to mentoring the next generation of cardiovascular professionals.
Another important addition to the team is George Degheim, M.D., a general cardiologist and echocardiography specialist, formerly of the Heart and Vascular Institute/West Florida Cardiology Network in St. Petersburg. He completed a cardiovascular disease fellowship at Michigan State University and his medical degree from Jordan University of Science & Technology in Jordan.
Also joining the division this summer will be David Weininger Cohen, M.D., a clinical cardiology and imaging specialist with experience in echocardiography.
He was a fellow in cardiovascular diseases and a clinical instructor of medicine at New York Medical College and earned his medical degree from Universidad Central de Venezuela in Caracas.
Hypertension Care
Hypertension is the focus of UHealth’s Comprehensive Hypertension Center, led by Maria Delgado-Lelievre, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at the Miller School. She joined the faculty this year after founding the center. Last year, the Comprehensive Hypertension Center achieved the American Heart and American Medical Association’s 2023 Gold Plus Award for outstanding blood pressure control – the only center in Florida to receive Gold status.
The four pillars that underpin the Comprehensive Hypertension Center’s innovative approach include genetic and family history assessment, risk factors and epigenetic factors, biochemical analysis and physiological studies of blood pressure variability.
Certified as a hypertension specialist by the American Heart Association, Dr. Delgado-Lelievre is active with the AHA Quality Health Care Certification Science Committee, the National Hypertension Control Roundtable and the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors.
Interventional and Structural Cardiology
Pedro Cox, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of interventional and structural cardiology at the Miller School and medical director of the UHealth’s Structural Heart Disease program, joined the cardiology division in February. His clinical expertise encompasses the percutaneous management of coronary and endovascular interventions, as well as valvular and left atrial appendage occlusion therapies.
Dr. Cox is actively involved in clinical research and has written several chapters in cardiovascular textbooks. He also wants to improve access to heart valve disease interventions for underrepresented communities.
Since his arrival last year, Nikolaos Spilias, M.D., assistant professor of interventional and structural cardiology at the Miller School, has performed several leading-edge procedures to help patients with structural heart disease, hypertension and other conditions. With Dr. Chatzizisis and in partnership with Dr. Delgado-Lelievre’s Hypertension Center, Dr. Spilias performed the first renal denervation procedure in Florida to reduce patients’ blood pressure by disrupting overactive nerves in the kidney arteries. He is also experienced with transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures and recently performed the first same-day patient discharge post-TAVR procedure in Florida.
Imaging Services
Another recent arrival is Thanh Duong-Wagner, M.D., a general cardiology specialist with expertise in cardiovascular imaging, including 3D, transesophageal and stress echocardiography. Dr. Duong-Wagner practices general cardiology at the UHealth’s multispecialty clinic at West Palm Beach.
This summer, Pedro Covas, M.D., a specialist in structural heart imaging with focus on echocardiography and cardiovascular computed tomography, will be returning to the University of Miami, his undergraduate alma mater.
Dr. Covas will partner with Drs. Cox and Spilias in the division’s first-class Structural Heart Disease program. Previously, he was a cardiac imaging fellow at The Heart Hospital Plano in Texas and a cardiology fellow at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He earned his medical degree at Temple University and his bachelor’s degrees in biology and psychology at the University of Miami.
Dr. Chatzizisis said the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine is taking an integrated and multidisciplinary approach in expanding its programs in preventive and general cardiology, non-invasive cardiovascular imaging, heart failure, electrophysiology and interventional cardiology.
Luminary examples include the unified heart failure program with UHealth, Jackson Health System and Miami Transplant Institute and the advanced cardiovascular imaging program in partnership with radiology.
“We are looking forward to evolve to a leading academic cardiovascular program,” said Dr. Chatzizisis. “Growing our professional team clearly demonstrates our commitment to delivering the highest level of patient care, research and education to the communities we serve.”
Tags: cadiac electrophysiology, Center for Digital Cardiovascular Innovations, Comprehensive Hypertension Center, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Dr. Maria Delgado-Lelievre, Dr. Nikolaos Spilias, Dr. Yiannis Chatzizisis, heart failure, Hypertension Clinic